Healthy North Carolina 2020: A Better State of Health (PDF, 7.3 MB) - These are the final 2020 focus areas, objectives and targets for our state. Each of the 13 focus areas is presented in a two-page section. Each section lists the objectives for the focus area, briefly describes the rationale for the selection of each objective, shows data on where North Carolina currently ranks regarding each objective, and provides the 2020 target.

See Also: Healthy NC 2020 Technical Report - A companion publication with additional background information for each of the 13 focus areas and more information about why each of the 40 objectives was selected and how targets were set.

The Summary Tables include the 13 focus areas with specific measureable objectives, current data, 2020 target values, and links to evidence based strategies.

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Every 10 years since 1990, North Carolina has set decennial health objectives with the goal of making North Carolina a healthier state. One of the primary aims of this objective-setting process is to mobilize the state to achieve a common set of health objectives. For the year 2020, there are 40 objectives within 13 specific focus areas. Each of the 13 focus areas and objectives are listed below. They can also be viewed in the report, Healthy North Carolina 2020: A Better State of Health (PDF, 7.3 MB). Also see the Healthy NC 2020 Technical Report, a companion publication with more details about each of the 13 focus areas and 40 objectives.

An objective is a specific, measurable goal within a focus area. It is what we aim to accomplish, such as a reduction in the percentage of people with diabetes. There are 40 such objectives to be accomplished by 2020. Each Healthy NC 2020 objective includes a discrete target that provides a quantifiable way to measure our success in achieving each Healthy NC 2020 objective, such as a 10 percent reduction in the percentage of people with diabetes.

The Healthy NC 2020 objectives provide a common set of health indicators that we, as a state, can work to improve, while the targets assigned to each objective enable us to monitor our progress, or lack thereof, toward achieving these common health objectives.

Evidence-based strategies for prevention underlie the focus areas and objectives of Healthy NC 2020. Essentially, evidence-based programs or strategies are those that have been subjected to rigorous evaluation and have been shown to produce positive outcomes. They often have a quantifiable, scientific basis.

No, there are evidence-based strategies for most of the objectives identified by the Task Force. However, if evidence-based strategies have not been developed the Task Force has tried to identify best or promising practices - that is, practices where there is evidence to suggest that an intervention could be effective. In some cases there is a need for additional research.